Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Pistachio Macaroons

This recipe caught my eye as I was flipping through "How to be a Domestic Goddess," a fantastic baking book by Nigella Lawson. They are fancier than the drop cookies I usually make and the flavor is great in the cookies alone, and even more so in the filling.

I made miniature ones, about one inch across, and I think I over-baked them. I also had a slight problem with the eggs whites losing volume as I folded in the pistachio-powdered sugar mixture, so I might try adding a pinch of cream of tartar next time.

Regardless of my small setbacks, I definitely recommend these cookies!

macaroons:

1/3 cup pistachios

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 large egg whites

1 tbsp sugar

buttercream:

1/4 cup pistachios

1 2/3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup softened butter

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grind pistachios in a food processor with the powdered sugar until fine as dust.

Whisk the egg whites until fairly stiff, sprinkle the sugar over, and whisk until very stiff.

Fold the whites into the pistachio-sugar dust, and combine gently.

Pipe small rounds onto a lined baking sheet using a pastry bag with a plain 1/2" nozzle.

Let them sit 10 minutes to form a skin, then bake for about 10 minutes. They should be set but not dried out.

Remove from the oven and let cool on their sheets.

For filling:

Grind nuts and powdered sugar in the processor as before, then cream the butter and continue creaming as you add the nut dust. Make sure you have a well-combined soft buttercream.